Broom-guard.



S. G. WILSON.

BROOM GUARD.

LED JUNE 1 Patented May 11, 1915.

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WITNESSES mvemon a are.

STEPHEN G. WILSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BROOM-GUARD.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Application filed June 12, 1914. Serial No. 844,676.

T all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, STEPHEN G. WILSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Broom-Guard, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of a device for holding the straws or splints of a broom together to increase or decrease the elasticity of the straws or splints.

It further consists of such a guard which can be secured to a corn broom to guard the straws or splints against undue spreading and consequent wear and breakage.

It further consists of such a guard having means for suspending the broom.

It further consists of other novel features of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail one mechanical form embodying the invention, such detail construction being but one of various mechanicalforms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings Figure 1 represents a side-view of the detached guard. Fig. 2 represents an edge view of the same. Fig. 3 represents a side view of a corn-broom provided with the guard. Fig. 4 represents an enlarged view of one of the buckles. Fig. 5 represents a detail View of the end of one of the confining loops.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates the head of a broomcorn broom, having the usual stitches, 2, of

heavy thread, twine or wire, and secured in the usual or any desired manner to a broomstick, 3. Two buckles, 4e, are secured upon the opposite sides of the broom-head by a bolt, 5, passing through the buckles and the broom-head, and having-a nut, 6, for clamping the buckles against the sides of the head. A tongue, 7 is out out from the lower portion of the body of each buckle and is adapted to engage or hook under one transverse row of stitches, and a corrugated tongue, 8, is cut out from the upper portion of the body of each buckle to point upward, andis adapted to engage beneath another row of stitches. Two laterally extending tongues, 9, are formed upon the side-edges of each buckle and are bent inward to engage between the splints or straws, and have barbs, 10, struck inward from said tongues to engage the splints or straws in the head. Laterally extending wings, 11, at the upper and lower end of each buckle are formed with each a transverse slot, 12, and two loops, 13, of wire, have their ends formed into hooks, 14, which engage such slots, each loop having its hooked ends engaging slots in the two buckles and being doubled around the edge of the broom-head, diverging downward from the buckles. The upper portions of the limbs of the loops are formed with corrugations, 15, which are engaged by an eye, 16, and a hook, 17, also forming an eye and both formed by the outwardly bent ends of an oblong loop, l8,one on each side of the broom-head. The limbs of the loops are formed near their doubled ends with notches, 19, consisting of'bends or corrugations in the wires, and yielding links have eyes, 20, at their ends engaging the limbs of the loops and are formed with one or more coils, 21, which render the links longitudinally yielding.

When applied to a broomhead, the buckles are placed upon the sides of the head with the lower tongues preferably inserted beneath the cord of the lower row of stitches and drawn up to the full length of the tongues, and the upper tongues inserted beneath the cord of an upper row of stitches, which cord engages one of the corrugations of said tongues. The buckles are drawn together by the nut and bolt passing through the broom-head, and the barbed lateral tongues which have been bent inward are forced in between the splints or straws of the broom-head, retaining the buckles against lateral play. The diverging loops have their hooked ends engaged in the transverse slots of the buckles, with their doubled portions against the edges of the head, and the adjusting loops and links can draw the limbs of the loops more or less tightly to gether, to exert more or less tension upon the head.

When the broom is desired to have its normal tension, the eyes of the adjusting loops connecting the upper ends of the clamping loops are moved to the upper corrugations of the limbs of the latter to just draw the clamping loops sufficiently together to hold them in place upon the broom-head, and the yielding links are dis engaged from the notches in the limbs of the loops and are movable upon the diverging limbs. /Vhen it is desired to increase the tension or stiffness of the broom, the loops have their limbs drawn together by the adjusting links being drawn down with their eyes and hooks engaging the notches of the limbs, and the yielding links descend and engage the lower notches of the limbs of the clamping loops and hold the broom-head compressed. The broom may be hung from a nail or hook engaging one of the oblong loops of the upper adjusting links. The attachment can thus be used to adjust the tension of the splints or straws of the broom to greater or less extent, as well as such attachment will serve as a guard preventing undue spreading of the broom-head and consequent breaking of the splints or straws. The attachment can be used with any broom of the type of the ordinary broom-corn broom, whether made from corn or from wooden strips or similar splints.

The bent-over ends, 22, of the hooks upon the ends of the loops are bent close to the limbs of the loops so that they cannot be hooked into and out of the slots in the buckles, but such ends are placed lengthwise in the slots and pressed through the same, whereupon the loop is turned downward, bringing the ends of the hooks to bear tightly against the backs of the buckles. The bent ends of the hooks are of the length of the slots so that they may just pass through the same. In the case one corner of the broom is worn more than the opposite corner, the hooks of the loop on that side of the broom can be changed from the lower slots in the buckles to the upper slots, to leave the splints or straws engaged higher on one edge of the head than on the other and thus have the unconfined portions of splints or straws of substantially the same length and tension. The barbed tongues upon the buckles hold the latter against the broom-head and prevent lateral movements of the'buckles, as the tongues are held between the splints or straws, and the buckles are thus firmly clamped to the sides of the broom-head to hold the loops evenly against the edges of the same. The oblong loops of the adjustable links admit of the same expanding evenly laterally by the strain of the diverging limbs of the loops upon the opposite eyes and hooks, while if such loops are circular, the lateral expansion of the same is liable to be uneven and the loops bearing unevenly upon the edges of the head.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed for the mode herein explained. Change may therefore be made as regards the mechanism thus disjclosed, provided the principles of construction set forth, respectively, in the following claims are employed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a broom, a buckle secured upon each side thereof at the, middle point of the stitching, a resilient wire U-shaped bridle element arranged to straddle each edge of the broom body, the arms of said bridle elements being corrugated throughout a portion of their lengths, curved gradually upward, and pivotally mounted at their upper extremities in said buckles, and an adjusting link upon each side of the broom slidable upon the opposed arms of the bridle elements.

2. In a broom, a buckle secured upon each side thereof at the middle point of the stitching, each buckle being provided along each side edge with a plurality of horizontally elongated perforations, resilient wire U- shaped bridle elements arranged to straddle the edges of the broom, the arms of said elements being provided at their upper extremities with elongated hooks adapted to be received in said perforations when the arms are in a horizontal position only, and means upon each side of the broom for drawing the opposed arms of said bridle elements toward each other.

8. In a device of the character stated, the combination of buckles having tongues situated at different heights and adapted to be inserted beneath different lines of stitching on the broom head and having barbed tongues extending inwardly from the buckles between the splints of the broom head, with independent wire loops each having their ends in pivotal engagement with a buckle on opposite sides of the broom head and diverging from the point of connection therewith on each side and engaging the side edges of the broom head, whereby while the loops are anchored with respect to the broom head, swinging movement between the loops and said buckles is provided to insure an equal pressure on both side edges of the splints, and yielding links on each side of the broom head having means directly engaging with and slidable upon the diverging portions of the loops, whereby the spread of the loops may be adjusted at the edges to vary the tension thereof against the splints, and said links extending between the loops to engage with sides of the broom head at points above the engagement of the loops with the side edges of the broom head.

STEPHEN G. WILSON. Witnesses:

WM. SEDIER, C. D. MoVAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

